Nothing At All
by missdaryldixon
Summary: Hermione is stuck in Georgia, unable to escape and armed with only her wand, weapons and wit to help her survive. One day she comes across a rough-spoken redneck and their group, and decides that she wants to join and rebuild her life in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. The last thing she expects is true friendship and, even more surprisingly: love. DarylxHermione
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so my love for Harry Potter and The Walking Dead kind of morphed, and I decided to start this multi-chapter fic :') I don't know if anyone will even read it but I feel compelled to write anyway. This will be a HermionexDaryl fic, sorry Carylers! I love Caryl but I'm just too excited to write HermionexDaryl :D

Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Chapter One**

The world had fallen. There was no hope to hold on to, not anymore.

She was in Georgia when it happened. She was only supposed to be there for three days, to meet up with the country's Minister of Magic with a few fellow workers to discuss magical creature rights. It was meant to be a simple business endeavor, and then she would return home safely.

It had been three months since she last saw Britain.

She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but suddenly there were these..._things_ everywhere. She had looked through every book she owned, trying to seek out what these creatures were, searching in vain for a long-forgotten myth or ancient story that might shed _some_ light onto what the bloody hell was going on. She heard rumors from the other wizards and witches that it was the work of a new dark wizard, one even more powerful than Voldemort had ever been. Even worse, the terrifying new disease wasn't just restricted to Muggles - magical folk could be affected, too.

She'd seen it.

If she could, she would've gone back to Britain. Except when she tried to Apparate, she found that she couldn't. She had panicked of course, as had her fellow Ministry colleagues when they discovered that something was preventing them from Apparating. Whilst they continued to fret, crying and wailing about 'imminent deaths', she had taken a deep, shaking breath and decided that she had to remain logical and act as steadily as she could.

Because now, all Hermione Granger had was her wand and a world full of walkers.

* * *

"_Stupefy!_" Hermione screamed, waving her wand as a blast of blinding red light exploded from the tip, knocking back a whole horde of walkers. However, they weren't the least bit stunned, crawling back to their feet and lumbering towards her once more, only aggravated from the blow Hermione had inflicted.

"_Stupefy!_" she yelled again, gaining herself more time as she once again knocked them back several feet, all the while running as fast as she could through the deserted shopping mall. She briefly considered setting them alight, that would slow them down for sure, but the idea of the smell of burning rotting flesh and the risk of burning the whole place down wasn't exactly wise at that moment.

She was alone now. It had been almost two years since the world went to hell, and she had had to accept that no help was coming. The government, both Muggle and magical, had well and truly crumbled, and she hadn't seen another witch or wizard for almost over a year.

The group she was last with had fallen apart. Ten Muggles who had all died when their camp was overrun by a group of walkers. _All of them. _She had tried to help them, she really had, but the monsters had just appeared out of no where. She had barely managed to Stun the nearest walker before she fled, grabbing her bag just in time as she disappeared into the forest.

Now she was in another strange town, another strange place, and she was once again alone. She found herself thinking about Ron and Harry. She could hear the walkers snarl behind her as she sprinted, her hair flying, and all she could hear were their voices urging her to move faster.

_Merlin's beard, Hermione, move!_

"Oh, shut up, Ron," Hermione said under her breath, unable to stop her lower lip from trembling as she envisioned her two best friends' faces. She wondered if they were still alive. The last time she'd heard from them was when the whole world went to hell, when Ron sent her a frantic letter by owl. She had returned the letter, telling him that she would try to return home as quickly as possible.

She never heard from him again.

Her eyes stung like they always did whenever she thought of him. Of her old life, of how things used to be. _How_ had things gotten to be like this?

And then she heard five shots in the distance.

* * *

"Fuckin' hell, Rick, they're everywhere!" Daryl snarled as Rick fired another shot. He was out of ammo already for his Python, and he pulled his machete out as Daryl released bolt after bolt from his crossbow.

"Stay in formation!" Their leader barked as Glenn threatened to stray away from their tight circle.

Daryl, Rick, Glenn and Maggie began taking down as many walkers as they could. They usually didn't venture into malls as large as this, but they had tried Sasha's boom box tactic and drew many of them out days before. The place had seemed relatively quiet and initially they thought the run could go smoothly if they did it quickly and quietly.

Of course, things never went to plan.

They had come out of nowhere, spilling out in a mass of thirty odd geeks. They had taken half of them were down, but they were short on ammo and they seemed rabid, moving quicker than Daryl had ever seen them move.

"Fuck," Daryl growled as he ripped his buck knife out from its sheath and buried it into the skull of the nearest walker.

"Maggie!" Glenn roared, and Daryl caught the sight of Maggie darting further out of their formation than she should have, quickly being surrounded by three walkers.

They heard her shrill scream, and then there was the loud sound of a shot being fired out of nowhere and an explosion of gore. Brains and blood splattered over Maggie's face as the two walkers around her dropped onto the ground, the third crumpling just as it was about to take a bite out of Maggie's arm. Glenn all but wrenched her towards him, frantically running his hands over her arms to check for bites as she repeated hysterically that she was okay.

Daryl caught a flash of curly brown hair in the distance, but didn't stop to take a closer look as he continued to hack through skull after skull. He didn't know how long it had been, but soon Rick was grappling his arm and breathing heavily, looking exhausted.

"We need to get out of here!" The voice didn't belong to Rick, but to a female. The brunette, the one who had saved Maggie. She was jogging up to them now, stuffing a slim stick down the waistband of her pants as she reloaded her gun. Her voice was high, accented, her eyes wide and fearful as her glanced flitted between the four of them.

None of them even bothered to ask who the hell she was, and Daryl didn't had time to assess whether or not she could be trusted. Their priority was to get the hell out, as all the noise they had generated would no doubt attract more walkers. Even as he watched, more of them were coming out of the shadows behind the stranger, who broke into a run.

Stooping down, Daryl grabbed the closest two bags of supplies and ran, Glenn, Maggie, Rick and the strange new woman on his trail.

* * *

Sorry for the short first chapter! But would anyone be interested in reading more? If so, please leave me a review :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Get in!" Rick snarled as they rushed across the parking lot. Maggie and Glenn rushed into the Hydundai as Rick gave the stranger a hesitant look before finally jerking his head. "You, too."

The stranger darted inside the car without a word as Daryl started his motorcycle. The group didn't waste any time as they pulled out of the lot and raced back to the prison.

"Do you have a death wish?" Glenn snapped furiously as Rick maneuvered the car with frightening speed, twisting round to glare at Maggie who was tucked beside the stranger in the backseat. "How many runs have you been on, Maggie? You know the drill!"

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child," Maggie said coldly, refusing to look at him. "I didn't think, okay?" She admitted begrudgingly. "I just-"

"If it weren't for her, you might not be alive," Glenn said, gesturing to the woman.

"Thank you," Maggie said quietly, her voice softening as she offered the stranger a small smile. She ignored Glenn as he continued muttering under his breath, sounding thoroughly disgruntled. "What's your name?"

"Hermione Granger," the woman responded. She had a soft voice, and she sounded terribly exhausted. She looked it too, deep shadows beneath her eyes and her blonde-brown hair twisted up messily in a ponytail, tendrils dangling in front of her face.

"I'm Maggie Greene," Maggie said. "This is Glenn."

Rick eyed the rear view mirror and made eye contact with Hermione.

"My name's Rick Grimes." With that, he slammed down on the brakes and they came to an abrupt halt outside an abandoned looking gas station. Hermione looked at Maggie in confusion, who mirrored her expression, as Rick climbed out and opened the door next to Hermione. "Get out."

Hermione did as she was told, swallowing hard. These people were going to leave her, she could tell. Rick didn't look like he trusted her one bit, and Hermione couldn't blame him.

"Rick? What are you doing?" Maggie said, sounding furious.

The man on the motorcycle pulled up alongside them, and he eyed Hermione with some degree of suspicion. "We just gonna leave her here, Rick?" He asked as the motorcycle spluttered and fell silent.

"We can't take her back with us," he said resolutely. "Not with the problems we already got."

"Shouldn't we discuss this with the rest of the council, at least?" Maggie asked.

Hermione was silently impressed. Council? By the sounds of it, this group had a real community going on. She wanted to appeal her case.

"I'm won't be any trouble, I swear," she said sincerely.

"Look at her, Rick, she looks pretty damn weak. You got a group?" Motorcycle man asked.

Hermione shook her head once.

"I've been alone for a while now."

"How have you survived so long?" Rick asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I'm stronger than I look," Hermione said a little defensively. "I can protect myself. But...I don't think I can go out there alone for much longer," she admitted. The lack of human interaction was killing her. "Please consider accepting me. I swear I won't cause any problems."

Rick gave her the longest look, and for a second Hermione thought he'd reject her. Instead, he sighed a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"We'll consult with the rest of our group, but we make no promises."

"That's fine," Hermione said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I just want you to consider."

"I'll have to search you," Rick said in a business like manner, gesturing for Hermione to raise her arms. She did so, letting him frisk her thoroughly. He removed her knife and gun, and his hand lingered around the small purse than hung from her belt.

Hermione wordlessly opened it. Inside, Rick saw a pen, a few loose buttons and two gold coins. He looked at her like she was insane for keeping such random items and she didn't answer truthfully. "Sentimental items," she murmured, and Rick just nodded curtly.

Of course, what his Muggle eyes _didn't_ see thanks to a clever little charm was what Hermione _really_ had in the purse. Potions, books, more weapons, and random little bits and bobs that might come in handy. She had cast an Undetectable Extension charm on the purse, so that whilst it appeared to be large enough to hold items no longer than ten inches, it was large enough to fit - well, pretty much anything.

"And this?"

Hermione was shaken out of her thoughts, cursing mentally as Rick withdrew her wand from her waistband. She almost clawed it back, but stopped herself just in time.

Rick ran a finger along the length of the wood, looking at her quizzically. "It's something I remember my younger sister by," Hermione said as convincingly as she could. "It used to belong to hers. It's just a toy."

She hated lying, but she had no choice. After all, she couldn't very well tell them the truth. They probably wouldn't believe her at first, think she was crazy, then refuse to take her back if they thought she was mentally unstable. Even worse, if she _showed_ them the magic she could do, they'd probably freak out and abandon her.

She waited anxiously as Rick slowly handed her wand back, and she slipped it into her pocket quickly.

"We're burnin' daylight," the motorcycle man said huskily as a prompt, and Rick nodded.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Wow," Hermione breathed as they approached the prison. She eyed the tall fences, the large cell blocks, the clusters of people in the courtyard. The only thing that seemed worrisome were the clots of walkers lingering around the fences, and she was reminded of the change in the creatures' behaviors in recent months. They tended to stick together more, which was a huge problem.

"This is amazing. You've built a life here," Hermione praised, smiling a small smile as she watched a teenage boy run up near the gates and operate the mechanisms that allowed them entry.

"Which is why I gotta keep these people safe," Rick said sternly. "We can't trust all too easily anymore."

Hermione nodded understandingly as the car rolled forward. The gates had stakes set up on either side of it, impaling the nearby walkers who got to close. Ingenious.

Maggie smiled at the sight of Hermione with her nose practically squashed up against the glass. She seemed like a little kid in that moment, as mature as she was otherwise.

When the gates were safely closed, Rick bought the car to a halt and the foursome got out of the vehicle. Motorcycle man pulled up and Rick gave him some of the bags from the boot.

"Daryl, take these up to cell block A, Doctor S said the medication might have a chance of helping."

"Is someone ill?" Hermione asked as the man named Daryl headed off, his strong arms easily carrying several bags as he strolled away.

"There's a virus going round. It's dangerous," Rick said warningly. "We know two boys who caught it and died overnight."

Hermione gasped, looking shocked.

"We lost eight others after the boys turned and attacked the cell block. And an additional two, Karen and David, they caught the virus and someone...murdered them."

"Murder?" Hermione repeated. Maybe the image of this wholesome community wasn't so wholesome after all.

"We have a traitor among us," Rick said simply. "Perhaps they thought they were doing good by killing them, but we're going to find out who did this. And when we do, well, they will be treated accordingly."

Now she understood why they were so edgy. On top of the fact that there were flesh eating monsters everywhere, these people were dealing with an unknown murderer in their group. She was repulsed by the fact of a murderer living within the compound and frightened for the residents here, but not for herself. She knew how to protect herself with magic, and there was no way someone could ambush her that easily.

"Hermione, we're going to call a meeting in the library. We'll discuss your situation and decide whether or not to let you stay. If we don't, we'll throw together a bag of food and supplies for you, enough to last you for a week or so."

"Okay," Hermione agreed tentatively as Rick began to walk away.

"Wait here," he called over his shoulder as Glenn and Maggie followed. "I'll be back."

* * *

"This can be your cell. Hermione, alright?"

Hermione nodded and smiled at the woman who had introduced herself as Carol. She sat down on the bunk, for she didn't exactly have anything to unpack (her bag always remained tied to her belt), and Carol settled down beside her.

"Where are your belongings?" Carol asked, and Hermione quickly tried to generate a response.

"I, uh, I left them at the house I've been camping in for the last week. It got overrun though, so I don't have anything left. Just what's on me," Hermione said.

"We'll have clothes and other essentials for you here," she assured her. She studied her face with her pretty blue eyes. "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Thirty one," Hermione replied.

"You look so much younger," Carol mused. "You look like how I'd imagine my daughter would look in her twenties." She said it so matter of factly that Hermione almost asked where her daughter was, but quickly stopped herself when she saw Carol avert her eyes, her forehead creasing a little as if she were deep in thought. Hermione herself tried her best not to mull on the past, and she deduced that perhaps Carol's daughter was a piece of _her _past now._  
_

After a short moment she asked, "Where are you from?"

"I'm originally from England," Hermione said, noticing that Daryl had appeared in the doorway and was now leaning against the bars, watching the two of them silently. "I came here for business, I used to be a - an animal rights activist. And then all _this_ started." Hermione shrugged and Carol nodded.

"I'm sure you'll be happy here. We'll all do our best to make you feel welcome."

Daryl snorted and Hermione looked up, scowling slightly. This guy did _not_ seem the most cheerful of people. He reminded her of Kreacher when she first met him, surly and poor-tempered.

"And this here is Daryl Dixon," Carol smirked, standing up and walking over to him. "He's just a bundle of sunshine."

"Shut up," Daryl muttered, but Carol merely nudged him and continued leaving the cell.

"Get some rest, sweetheart," Carol said kindly, before she and Daryl left. Before they did, Daryl glanced back one last time at Hermione, his bright blue eyes holding an unfathomable expression.

Hermione decided that maybe she should take her up on her advice, however before she could, there was the pitter-patter of light footsteps and another person appeared in her doorway. A child, maybe six years old, with a heart shaped face and wavy, golden hair. She reminded Hermione of Luna Lovegood's daughter, Lindy, except Lindy was only four.

"Hi," Hermione said, tilting her head towards the child with a smile.

"Hi," she replied, twisting her hands together. "Who are you?"

"My name's Hermione," she said as the girl stepped halfway into her cell.

"That's a strange name," the girl said absently, moving closer to her. "My name's Bella."

"That's a _beautiful_ name."

"What's that?" Bella questioned, pointing at Hermione's wand. Hermione drew it out and waved it at her.

"This? It's a magic wand."

"Why do you have a magic wand?" Bella asked, her eyes widening.

"Because I'm a witch," Hermione said with a wide grin, enjoying the fact that she could divulge this information with the young child, possibly the only person who wouldn't accuse her of being insane.

"_Really?_"

"Really really."

"Can I see you do magic?"

"Aha," Hermione said, biting her lip. "That's the catch. I can't perform magic in front of normal people."

"Why not?" Bella hopped up onto the bed, staring at her wand curiously.

"Because you'll go mad. Start seeing Nargles everywhere," she teased.

"Oh." Bella blinked and reached out slowly. "Can I touch it?"

Hermione carefully passed the wand to her, allowing her to swish it about the air a couple of times. Eventually, Bella turned to her with a small frown and asked, "What's a Nargle?"

* * *

It was ten minutes past midnight. After an entire day of being introduced to many members of the group, most of whom had been welcoming, she'd retired to her cell. However, instead of sleeping, she was sat up in her bunk with a flashlight, reading and re-reading the letter in her hand.

Ron's letter. Their very last correspondence, his messy scrawl across the parchment, deep-set creases streaked across it where she'd folded it. The letter was almost disintegrated from the many number of times she'd handled it, the surface soft and weathered, and she quickly wiped her tears away to avoid splashing the parchment.

_Hermione,_

_I'm the last person who knows what's going on, but I know it's something bad. People are saying that Voldemort has been resurrected, but we know that's rubbish. The Prophet has been reporting similar stuff which isn't helping. Everyone's in total panic. You know Linda Florett, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement? She managed to get attacked by one of the things, and not even the best Healers could save her. I don't know what happened to her in the end, if she died or turned or what, but rumor has it the Minister for Magic has her captive for experimenting. _

_Not even Harry has a clue what the things are, except that they are definitely not Inferi as some people have said. He doesn't even know if it's Dark Magic or just a new species that has managed to evolve rapidly. He thinks they may be related to Inferi or vampires in some way, maybe even both. _

_ Just come home, please? We're all worried about you._

_Stay safe,_

_Ron_

Hermione smiled a watery smile. In her head, Ron was still alive. Harry, too. And all the other people she cared about: the Weasleys, Hagrid, McGonagall, Neville, everyone. They were out there somewhere, somehow unable to communicate with her. But they were alive.

They had to be.

Hermione carefully folded the letter and placed it in her bag. It fluttered down into the dark depths, and she raised her wand and pointed it into the bag. "Accio Firewhisky," she muttered.

After a second or two, the bottle came soaring up, and Hermione caught it quickly. She was never a drinker up until a few months or so ago, when she'd just had a strong craving for alcohol. She couldn't find any in the stores she'd raided, and out of desperation she'd tried looking inside her bag. She didn't even _know_ it was there, but she thanked Merlin it was.

She hadn't drank much, always sipping it sparingly, for she still wasn't accustomed to the burning sensation in the back of her throat. It gave her a much needed kick though, although she pulled a face when she swallowed. She sighed, popping the top back on and placing it back into the bag, ready to lie back and sleep.

Her head had barely touched the pillow when the screaming began.

* * *

If I don't get many reviews I won't be continuing this, sorry! I know where I want to go with this but reviews encourage me to write and post, and without knowing that people are reading this and want to read more, I don't feel particularly motivated. Thanks for reading!


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